The Mecca of New York looms large in the American consciousness for a variety of reasons. It's “The Big Apple,” “The City-That-Never-Sleeps,” and so much more. One of the reasons that it looms so large is the fact that its 10 million inhabitants makes it one of The World's most populous cities, and that, in the most powerful nation on Earth.
It's a complicated city, that has both within its spiritual and material resources, something to please any and everyone. There is nothing that cannot be found in New York. It can be a compassionate place and it can be a downright mean place—both realities exist. For a newcomer, New York can be especially brutal. In the mid-1970's, singer George Benson released a song called “On Broadway,” about a poor aspiring guitarist who shows up in The City seeking fame and fortune. The song is about a lot of things, but its main theme is the narrator's confidence in his guitar-playing ability, a belief of supreme talent, and it is that talent that the singer feels will allow him to make it big “On Broadway.” This confidence is expressed in the lyric, “'Cause I can play this here guitar!” The song feeds into the precept and legend of New York, the idea “That if you can make it here (in New York), you can make it anywhere.”
With “On Broadway” as a backdrop, consider one Abraham Lincoln, arriving in the city in February of 1860, a time when New York was just as much a legend then, as it is now, then containing about 800.000 residents. Mr. Lincoln had spent months and months before that in serious research, marshaling all of the resources of his lawyerly and prodigious mind, to do the research on the Founding Fathers, and what their official votes were, across time, on the issue of slavery. It is said that Mr. Lincoln spent more time researching on the particular speech that he would give in New York, than any other in his life. At the time, Lincoln was a fairly obscure lawyer and politician from The West. He had somewhat made a name for himself several years prior in his heated debates with Stephen A. Douglass, but he was not, in any sense, a household name. His New York speech would change this.
Lincoln knew that he could change his fortunes in New York, if the speech that he had prepared as a result of his research was a Big Hit. He knew this primarily because New York was the media capital of the World, and a good, solid political speech would resonate, through all of the national newspapers, like waves resonating out from a rock that has been thrown into a pond. Lincoln wanted to be meticulously prepared. So, late in February of 1860, Lincoln took the stage at Cooper Union in New York to give the most important speech of his life. On first impression, the audience was rather nonplussed at his slovenly appearance, an uncouth, homely and tall man, standing before them in a wrinkled suit. Lincoln's six-foot-four stature was pronounced by a head full of black hair, that seemed to be all over the place, leaving many to wonder why the speaker had not bothered to comb his hair. The audience sat before him rather dumbfounded.
But, then the speaker opened his mouth, letting the results of his research flow freely in abundant supply. The presentation of his words were so perspicacious that all sat in rapt attention, quickly forgetting the physical appearance of the man before them, and being taken in by the power of the crystal clear logic and sincerity of what he had to say. At the end of the speech, the crowd exploded with a standing ovation, thus laying the groundwork for the newspapers over the next few days to make Abraham Lincoln a national name.
In sum I have just summed up Harold Holzer's book about Lincoln and Cooper Union. For anyone who truly wants to understand the power, intensity and genius of Abraham Lincoln as a powerful intellect, this book might be one of the best. Lincoln knew all that was at stake for his speech at Cooper Union. He prepared for it like no other chore that he had prepared for in his life, and ultimately, the speech that he made reflected his efforts. This book is the story of that, and a damn good one. It is excellent in showing the work ethic and intense efforts that Lincoln put into making his speech a success. It's also a most lucid portrayal of the effect of that speech. As George Benson would say, Lincoln, “Can play that there guitar!” since his effort in New York was a rousing success.
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